B&Q owner Kingfisher transferred the legal ownership of the paint VOC globe labeling system to the British Coatings Federation.
 
The scheme is part of a wider initiative by the coatings industry to raise consumer awareness of the amount of VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) contained in decorative paint products, to allow consumers to make more informed choices. The BCF, as the trade association for the U.K.’s paint industry, aims to encourage greater involvement from paint manufacturers in the scheme.
 
It is hoped that the VOC globe symbol, which classifies VOC levels in paint from minimal (0-0,29%) to very high (over 50%), will help consumers make greener choices.  The globe also helps paint recyclers easily separate solvent based and water based leftover paint, which aids reuse and recycling. 
 
“The BCF is proud to be proactive on environmental matters, and encouraging the use of lower VOC paint products is important to the coatings industry to help achieve our joint targets with the UK Government to reduce VOCs going into the atmosphere,” BCF CEO Tom Bowtell said. “As the paint industry’s trade association, we have the correct forums for paint companies’ technical representatives to review the definitions and standards related to the paint VOC globe system in the future.”